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| From our survey in Jul 2022. |
We survey the Serapong shore once a year. There was unexplained mass death here in Jun 2018 - With a heavy smell of death (like a badly run fish market) as we saw large corals and sponges that were bleaching, or had dying, rotting tissue. In Apr 2019 and Jul 2021, there were few hard corals and the shore was quiet. Recovery was observed in Jul 2022 and May 2023.
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| From our survey in May 2024 |
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| Corals near the Causeway Bridge seen on May 2024 Photos by Loh Kok Sheng. |
We did not survey the shore after the 14 Jun 2024 Pasir Panjang oil spill.
23 tonnes of diesel leaks from police facility into southern waters; oil patches seen off Sentosa
Chin Hui Shan Straits Times 6 Feb 2025
SINGAPORE – About 23 tonnes of diesel oil leaked from the Police Coast Guard Brani Regional Base in southern Singapore into surrounding waters on Feb 5.
In a joint statement, the Singapore Police Force, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and National Environment Agency said on Feb 6 that the oil leak was discovered at 11.40am on Feb 5 and “isolated” at about 3.40pm the same day.
They said that about 23 tonnes of oil had leaked from a damaged shore fuel hose used to refuel patrol craft at Selat Sengkir.
This is at least the fifth incident involving oil spilling into Singapore’s waters since June 2024.
The authorities said “there were no oil slicks observed”, but added that an oily sheen could be seen in some areas.
Members of the public told The Straits Times they saw patches of oil in the waters off the resort island of Sentosa.
Mr Sirius Ng, an outrigger paddler with the Singapore Paddle Club, told ST that he saw patches of oil off the entire south-western coast of Sentosa, from Tanjong Rimau to Tanjong Beach, on Feb 6 from around 6.45am to 8am.
“I was out paddling off Sentosa in the morning. The spill was quite extensive,” he said. “Everyone that was out this morning had to paddle through it on our outrigger canoes and surfskis.”
He added: “We noticed the smell before we visually confirmed that we were paddling in oil as it was dark when we first set off... The oil made it difficult to grip our paddles due to its greasiness, and we had to wash our canoes thoroughly after training.”
The authorities said that navigational traffic in the area was not affected and there was no impact to operations in the Port of Singapore.
“The Police Coast Guard and the MPA have deployed patrol craft and spill response resources to clean up small patches of light oil sheens observed in our southern waters. Contractors have also been activated to support the operation,” they added.
In response to queries from ST on Feb 6, a Sentosa Development Corporation spokesperson said: “Currently, there are no oil sightings or smell at all our beaches, and the waters of Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso beaches remain open.”
Guests can continue to use the beaches for water activities, the spokesperson said.
As a precautionary measure, oil absorbent and deflective booms have been deployed around Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches to safeguard the shores and marine environment.
“We are monitoring the situation closely with the relevant agencies and will provide updates on our Facebook page and website in due course,” the spokesperson added.
On June 14, 2024, Singapore experienced its worst oil spill in a decade after a dredging boat hit a stationary cargo tanker in Pasir Panjang Terminal, resulting in more than 400 tonnes of oil leaking into nearby waters.
Oil slicks spread to the waters near Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa, East Coast Park, the Southern Islands and Changi, requiring massive clean-up efforts that lasted about three months.
Subsequently, on Oct 20, 2024, about 30 to 40 tonnes of oil and water leaked from a land-based pipeline from the Shell oil refinery facility into the waters straddling Bukom Island and Bukom Kechil.
Shell alerted the authorities to the oil leak later that day at about 1pm – more than seven hours after the leak was found at 5.30am.
About a week after that incident, five tonnes of oil flowed into the sea on Oct 28 during a bunkering operation between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a bunker tanker off Changi.
In December 2024, a few tonnes of refined oil products produced at an oil processing unit at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park leaked, prompting Shell to shut down the unit temporarily.
Oil leak from damaged fuel hose at Police Coast Guard's Brani base; no oil slicks observed
About 23 tonnes of oil leaked from the damaged hose.
Channel NewsAsia 6 Feb 2025
SINGAPORE: About 23 tonnes of oil leaked from a damaged fuel hose at the Police Coast Guard's Brani base, Singapore authorities said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 6).
No oil slicks have been observed, said the Singapore Police Force, Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) in a joint statement.
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The diesel oil leak was discovered at the Brani Regional Base on Wednesday at about 11.40am and eventually isolated at about 3.40pm.
The oil came from a damaged shore fuel hose used to refuel patrol craft at Selat Sengkir.
The Police Coast Guard and MPA deployed patrol craft and "spill response resources" to clean up small patches of light oil sheens seen in Singapore's southern waters.
"Contractors have also been activated to support the operation. There are no oil slicks observed," said the authorities.
Navigational traffic in the area is not affected. There is no impact on operations in the Port of Singapore, they added.
In a separate statement, a Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) spokesperson said it is aware of the incident.
"Currently, there are no oil sightings or smell at all our beaches, and the waters of Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso Beach remain open. Guests can continue to use our beaches for water activities."
As a precautionary measure, the spokesperson said SDC has deployed a mix of oil absorbent and deflective booms around the three beaches to safeguard the shores and marine environment.
OIL SPILLS
This is the latest in a series of incidents where oil has spilt or leaked into Singapore’s waters.
Singapore agencies said in December that Shell had shut down an oil processing unit at Pulau Bukom to facilitate investigations into a suspected leak in the system.
It was estimated that “a few tonnes” of refined oil products were leaked, together with cooling water discharge. Oil sheens were later seen alongside a wharf at the facility, with containment and clean-up measures taken.
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In June, an oil spill occurred after Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima hit Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
This ruptured one of Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks, releasing about 400 tonnes of low-sulphur fuel into the sea.
Clean-up operations involved 800 cleaning personnel and 2,300 volunteers, and were completed in September, ahead of schedule.
On Oct 20, about 30 to 40 metric tonnes of "slop" - a mixture of oil and water - leaked from a Shell land-based pipeline into the sea between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.
And on Oct 28, an estimated 5 tonnes of oil was reported to have overflowed during bunkering operations between a Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier and a licensed bunker tanker.
The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) categorises oil spills of less than 7 tonnes as small.
Untitled MPA Media Release 5 Feb 2025
The Singapore Police Force confirms that a diesel oil leak was discovered at the Police Coast Guard (PCG) Brani Regional Base on 5 February 2025, at around 11.40am (Singapore Time). The leak was eventually isolated at about 3.40pm. About 23 tonnes had leaked from a damaged shore fuel hose used to refuel patrol craft at Selat Sengkir.
2. PCG and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore have deployed patrol craft and spill response resources to clean up small patches of light oil sheens observed in our southern waters. Contractors have also been activated to support the operation. There are no oil slicks observed.
3. Navigational traffic in the area is not affected. There is no impact to operations in the Port of Singapore.
